mackenzie999

This question reminds me of a Simpsons episode where Milhouse ends up in the water. marge asks Bart, "can Milhouse swim?" Bart: "what do you think?"

Marvel Comics Fans 1961-1986 isn't a terrible read, mostly lower-level collectors asking a lot of stupid hypothetical questions about storylines, but there's occasionally some fun content.

I belong to a couple of FB comics groups where the collectors are far less sophisticated than they are here, and the mentality there is press press press, typically accompanied by a lack of any knowledge about pressable defects, just the idea that throwing a few dollars at it will definitely improve it. I'm not lumping Awe in with these guys, he seems to know his stuff, but many don't.

Interesting! Alternate Gothic #2 has been one of my go-tos since about 2000, never saw 1 or 3.

Looks like a version of Trade Gothic, although your example pre-dates it. There's a website called whatthefont that is pretty good for id'ing fonts, although you have to have a keen eye for grotesques as the differences can be very subtle.

But those people are still outnumbered exponentially by people who think their bird cage liner comics represent early retirement for them.

Reader to me is a comic that could absorb the wear and tear of casual reading without changing grade.

Damn, I was playing the long game here, I figured once it sat for three years with no offers I could swoop in with a devastating lowball!

I believe Marvel, DC or whoever might take issue with you reselling their character likenesses.

I've heard PGX are reaching out to Kirby via seance and are going to have a witnessed signing opportunity via automatic writing.

Sounds a lot like my copy of Action 1. Admittedly a bit of a beater copy, I haven’t had it slabbed because I’m wary of how hard CGC would ding me for it’s various defects: coverless; centerfold missing; all other pages missing (affects story). Oh and the staples were replaced.

This definitely legit one clearly shows an Action 1 in the wild...

Not a popular opinion, but to me the first appearance is the first published image of a character period. Teaser, ad, last panel hand wave, whatever. If that's the first time they appeared, that is their first appearance. You could say I'm an IH 180 kinda guy. That being said I am in the vast minority on this in both collector opinion and market value.

All they really need for this is "Who are you going to use instead, CBCS? PGf'ingX? HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

En fuego why? Capt Marvel speculation?

I was wondering how long that would take. As an artist who's work has been used without permission (but one who got a nice out-of-court settlement), I'm always sensitive to stuff like this. It pisses me off no end every time Calvin & Hobbes merch pops up on my FB feed, which is often.

This is a bit of a generalization. Some books are extremely liquid, and slabbing ((or at least CGC slabbing) facilitates that.

The problem with this is, what constitutes reasonable? Books can languish in the CGC system for months, and it’s not unusual for people to move books because they need access to the funds right away. I sell you my XM1 because it’s the only way I can afford a book currently at auction. I either skip the auction due to waiting period (which kills my reason for selling in the first place), or I roll the dice, buy my book and find out later that I am on the hook for a pricy return. I think the real solution to this is that there isn’t any solution, but the reward for common sense and due diligence is that you can avoid these headaches. After 18 or so pages of well considered debate, I think Kav’s single sentence is the wisest piece of information in this whole thread.

I look forward to forgetting all about this for a while, then reading more when the thread comes back to life in six months for some reason.

While I agree that the books are almost certainly fake, I disagree with his reasoning. The fact that the counterspaces in the typography vary can be attributed to what is called ink spread. When paper absorbs ink things like counterspaces can close up a bit. This is affected by things like humidity and therefore can be variable. I’m not sure if he made any other points because I’m viewing this on my phone and the “next” button didn’t work for me. And again, I’m not defending the legitimacy of these copies at all, just saying that the slight variation in the counterspaces of the type isn’t proof of anything.

That koala looks pressed

Delete

As far as the mismatched tires and coattails go, I think those are an anomaly of this being a photograph vs a flat scan (the earlier comment about the impact ding on the tire makes sense). Assuming these are forgeries, it is highly unlikely they were created individually in such a way as to introduce deviations; and if for some reason they were, they probably wouldn’t be presented together. I suspect the shading lines in Supes are probably there just not visible in the photo; if you can make something this close to the original you sure as hell are going to get the central figure right.

Generosity is never a bad idea, especially in cases of need. Just be smart and send the money anonymously to avoid potential regret.

I always enjoy your posts here and I know you've been at this a long time. I'm sure you've made some great scores that would really wind up people who like to flaunt their ethics. There are reasonable arguments to be made on both sides, but the strongest argument to me is seller beware.